Edifice 129

In a strange place where daily broadcasts require everyone to “keep the silence”, the long-isolated residents of Edifice 129, trapped in their apartments and by distant memories, creep forwards, day by day. / Edifice 129 is a particular collaborative project, created by filmmakers across three countries. In the midst of the COVID-19 lock-downs, Linda Gasser — director of the Arc Film Festival in Mainz, Germany — invited filmmakers to join her Creatives Across Borders initiative. The aim was to meet via Zoom, support each other, and talk film, but talking film soon turned into developing a film. Meeting regularly, sometimes weekly, four writer/directors and a digital 3D artist created short films designed to work both as standalone projects and, when inter-cut, as one cohesive story, despite being filmed in Germany, the UK and Malta, and with the filmmakers never having met in person until after the films were finished.

Directed by Karen Anstee, Jürgen Heimüller, Kenneth Scicluna, Linda Gasser, Edifice 129 leans on a strong ensemble — Paul Portelli, Erica Muscat, Jürgen Heimüller — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2024.